Sorceror's Solution
by darkphoneix
Summary: Ranma and Genma arrive at the Tendo's but the initial meeting goes much differently than it once did, for Ranma knows magic and he doesn't mind using it!
1. Prologue

Sorcerer's Solution: Prologue  
  
"Kasumi is nineteen, Nabiki is seventeen, and Akane is sixteen.   
Pick one and she will be your wife."  
  
Ranma's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. He turned to look at   
his father, who was grinning like an idiot.  
  
"Well Son, who shall it be?" Genma asked impatiently.  
  
If his father and Mr. Tendo weren't such idiots, Ranma may   
have believed they were joking, but they didn't have the capacity   
for such advanced humor. Before making his displeasure known,   
Ranma looked the girls over. Kasumi smiled sweetly at him, but   
her eyes revealed the strain it took to maintain, Nabiki regarded   
him coldly with the expression on her face making her intentions   
clear, and Akane was glaring at him as if he had killed   
her mother."Since I'm a guest and all, I'm not going to hurt you,   
at least not yet, but you're an idiot if you think you can choose   
who I'm have to get married to."  
  
Genma's face fell noticeably, but Soun seemed unaffected by   
the statement. Tears of joy ran down his face and his   
features practically glowed with bliss."I understand that the   
choice must be quite difficult. All three of my daughters have   
grown into fine young women."  
  
The Tendo sisters became quite obviously upset, but instead   
of directing the hostility at Ranma like he had expected, the   
girls turned to their father. Even Kasumi wore an angry   
frown. Probably because it sounded like he was trying to sell a   
prime piece of meat.  
  
A more direct approach would be necessary, Ranma decided. He spoke   
a couple of alien words under his breath while twitching his fingers   
a bit under the table. Then, in a flash, Ranma's right hand, the   
one he had turned palm upward, sprouted a fist sized ball of   
crimson fire. It hovered a few inches over his palm and its   
surface boiled violently, but was held in check by Ranma's   
will.  
  
There were gasps from all present except for Genma, who had   
recently become intimately aquainted with his son's newfound   
penchant for pyrotechnics. It had been that reason alone that   
he hadn't told Ranma about the engagement a few blocks from   
their destination. Soun did have a family to take care of so Ranma   
was bound to have mercy on him. Hopefully.  
  
"Here's the deal: Tendo-san, if you can get out of the room before   
I blow you up, I'll marry one of your daughters. I'll even let   
you pick which one. Keep in mind that if you try and fail,   
though, your daughters will be fatherless."  
  
A shocked silence hung in the air at Ranma's proclamation. All   
three girls had gone pale. Akane's hand had slipped from where it   
had been gripping the table edge in preparation to brain Ranma,   
and Genma was trembling. His son had become very, very ruthless   
after jusenkyo and the subsequent stay in the amazon village.  
  
Soun's voice cracked as he spoke."Now S-son, I'm sure you're   
just overreacting. W-why don't we talk about this a little later   
after you've had a chance to settle in? Maybe a long soak in the   
furo and a home cooked meal will ease your nerves?"  
  
Ranma bounced the ball of fire in his hand and asked,"So you going   
to go for it, or are you just going to give up on the whole   
stupid idea?"   
  
Soun, racked with indecision, went almost a minute without   
answering. He may have been none to bright, and a little on   
the emotional side, but he couldn't leave his children alone to   
fend for themselves in a harsh world, and from Saotome's reports,   
Ranma was a prodigy. The chances of him standing up, getting   
around the table, and out the door before Ranma could hit him   
with whatever it was he had conjured up were slim beyond reason,   
so finally he relented,"You win." His shoulders slumped in defeat   
and his body was actually shaken by sobs.  
  
Ranma sorta felt sorry for the man. The union of the two schools   
was obviously very important to him, but Ranma would 'not' be forced   
to ever do anything. He followed his own code of honor, and in   
his opinion, it was without equal. The ball of fire grew   
transparent and faded away.  
  
Kasumi quickly rose from her position next to her father and tried   
her best to comfort the emotionally crushed man. As he shook in   
her circling embrace, Kasumi levelled Ranma with a disapproving   
look that spoke volumes.  
  
Akane's fists were clenched in pure rage. No one could treat   
her father like that, even if he did deserve it! It was only   
Ranma's obvious command over forces beyond her understanding that   
kept Akane from attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm upon   
Ranma. Since her oldest sister was the most experienced caregiver   
of the family, she left her father to Kasumi, opting instead to   
direct a very nice murderous glare at Ranma.  
  
Ranma's father hadn't been shocked by Ranma's display, he'd seen   
much worse from his son. The sight of Soun capitulating so   
easily, however, was like a blow to the very order of reality.   
Tendo never backed down from anything when his mind was set to it.   
Not anything!  
  
With calm, unemotional, and methodical grace, Nabiki's mind ran over   
a list of facts she had picked up from her already ex-possible   
fiance. Besides good looks and the skill he would almost   
certainly have from a lifetime of training in the martial arts,   
Ranma also possessed a very strong will that he imposed on others   
with ease, and last, but definately least, was that he appeared   
to casually play around with magic, something Nabiki had never   
really even had a second thought about. She had heard an   
incantation though, at least that was what she guessed it to be,   
and the ball of fire certainly hadn't been a trick done with   
mirrors and a flashlight. Conclusion: Ranma equalled several   
money making opportunities, fiance or not.  
  
"Ranma, why don't you go out and have a look at the dojo? Tendo and   
I have much to discuss," Genma said. Though he wanted the   
schools joined, Genma didn't want it enough to upset Ranma to the   
point that he started getting... violent. Besides, maybe they   
could trick Ranma into falling for one of the girls, they were all   
very attractive.  
  
Ranma shrugged, seeing his father's attempt to get rid of him for   
what it really was."Why not?" He stood to go, but a sudden   
thought struck him. "Hehe," he laughed weakly,"where is the   
dojo?"  
  
Before anyone else could answer, Nabiki volunteered,"I'll show   
you." She also had a good idea what the two men would talk about,   
and the camera imbedded in the wall could pick up anything she   
missed.  
  
Ranma didn't see the slightly startled looks directed at Nabiki by   
her sisters, so he replied,"Sure, lead the way."  
  
Nabiki led Ranma through the house and across the walkway that led   
to the dojo. She followed him into the dojo and said,"You handled   
that pretty well." Nabiki couldn't help but respect someone who   
could stop her father in his tracks.  
  
Still looking the training hall over, Ranma said,"Sorry I made him   
cry and all, but it really was a stupid idea. I'm only going to   
get married when I'm ready for it." He found the center of the dojo   
and sat down in a lotus position on the tatami mats. A couple   
seconds passed while Ranma spoke a short phrase that Nabiki   
couldn't understand, then his crossed legs slowly rose from the   
floor.  
  
Nabiki didn't let the suprise show on her face. It would be a   
serious disadvantage if Ranma knew just how interested in his   
abilities she was."Don't worry, he had it coming. How do you   
do that," she asked him, sounding and looking innocent.  
  
"Magic," answered Ranma smiling."It's really easy to do if you've   
got the potentioal for it."  
  
"Could you teach me?" Kami, she could make a 'lot' of money   
selling real magic lessons!  
  
Ranma shook his head slightly."It's too hard to tell yet. I'd have   
to be around you for at least a few days before I could tell   
for sure." Unknown to Nabiki, Ranma was, with slow and   
careful precision, expanding his aura throughout the structure of   
the dojo. Once he was firmly linked with it, Ranma withdrew the   
energy and settled back to the floor. His was a rare gift, the   
ability to draw knowledge and power from outside sources. Of course   
it would be a long time before he would see any noticeable   
differences in his overall magical strength, and the knowledge that   
had become imbedded in the very foundation of the dojo would take   
even longer before it began to integrate itself into his own style,   
but he was patient and already had several other sites linked   
to himself.   
  
"You mean you would really teach me magic, for free?" Now that   
was suprising. The concept of 'free' was alien to Nabiki.  
  
"It's against the rules to charge for that kind of instruction."   
Ranma climbed to his feet and began the opening moves of a simple   
kata, while Nabiki took a seat on a nearby bench.  
  
"Rules?" This was great, she wasn't even having to pay him for   
the info, and he was actually willing to teach her magic. If she   
knew the secret, Nabiki knew that she wouldn't even need   
Ranma.  
  
"Oh yes, there's lots of rules." Ranma smiled."One of them is not   
to force a willing student to pay for instruction."  
  
Who would enforce the rules? It wasn't like there was some kind   
of magic polce or something."How would one...sorcerer know that   
another one had broken the rules?" Magician would have sounded just   
a bit ridiculous. Ranma didn't seem like the type to go around   
pulling rabbits out of a hat.  
  
"Sorry, but I can't tell you anything else until I know wether or   
not you can even learn magic. The chances are pretty slim."  
  
Nabiki decided to change the subject. There wasn't much point   
in getting her hopes up, and even if she could have done magic,   
the rules would have taken all the fun out of it."My sister Akane   
is probably going to try to kill you."  
  
"I wasn't really going to kill your dad, you know. I just had to   
scare him into giving up on that stupid idea of his and   
Oyaji's."  
  
"Hey, I'm not complaining, but Akane looked more upset than I've   
ever seen her, and her temper is legendary."  
  
Ranma frowned, and came to a halt."Isn't Akane the heir to the   
school?"  
  
"Yeah, she is." Nabiki had decided not to charge for any   
information yet, at least not as long as he was forthcoming   
with her."Hey, how did you know that?"  
  
Ranma took one last look at the dojo, making sure that he was   
firmly linked with it, then left for the house."She was wearing a gi   
in the house and you and Kasumi don't carry yourselves like   
fighters," he answered to Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki caught up with Ranma and followed him into the house. She   
felt pretty stupid for missing the obvious clues that had led Ranma   
to his deduction.  
****  
  
"Oh it's just horrible Tendo, horrible! Those evil women   
brainwashed my son. Now he is disrespectful and rude, but he used   
to be such a well behaved boy," Genma was saying as Ranma and   
Nabiki came back in.  
  
"Wow, when all that brainwashing happen, Oyaji?" Ranma asked   
from behind his father.  
  
Genma turned several shades paler. Spinning around to face Ranma,   
he said,"It's all right Ranma, I was just telling the Tendos about   
what happened in China."  
  
"So you told them about the curses?" He was still using   
the brainwashing story? Stupid Oyaji.  
  
The fat man now matched the color of his dingy gi."W-what   
curses?"  
  
Ranma sighed."I'll be right back." He already knew where the   
kitchen was since he had passed it on his way to the dojo. It took   
him a minute to find a set of glasses and fill them with water.   
He returned to find his father looking a bit wild-eyed, and the   
Tendo, Soun included, looking like curious little children.  
  
"Ranma, think about what you're doing, please," Genma pled. They   
would all know his shame now! Oh the humanity!  
  
Ranma splashed himself and Genma before anyone could even blink.   
The results were spectacular, to say the least. Ranma, once a   
muscular young man, was now a shorter, though very endowed red-  
headed girl. Genma, found himself, no longer fat, male, or bald.   
In fact, he was the mirror image of his son turned daughter.   
Using such a negligible amount of magic that a spell wasn't   
even required, Ranma warmed the water in the other glass and poured   
it over herself and her stiff as a board father.  
  
To the Tendos, who were all taking turns staring at the pair   
of Saotomes, Ranma said,"We got the curses at a place called   
Jusenkyo because Oyaji is the world's smartest retard. Cold   
water activates them and hot water reverses them."  
  
"Couldn't you just," Nabiki wiggled her fingers,"use magic or   
something to get rid of them?"  
  
"I wish, but the kind of magic I do, except for a few tricks, is   
purely destructive. My teacher said that there were people with   
the right kind of magic to break the curse, though. I can't   
really find one of them, but I haven't given up.  
  
Kasumi and Nabiki were taking the revelation in stride. Now Ranma   
and Genma would know what it was like to be women. Akane just   
knew that the Saotomes were perverts, being girls like that,   
and couldn't stop thinking about what they must do to themselves   
every opportunity that they got. Perverts! Poor Soun, his   
already fragile mind made more so by Ranma's demand, just   
couldn't handle the extra information. While thinking about   
the horrors that his friend had endured for the art, he   
fainted.  
  
  
Author's Notes: While writing Power and Responsibility, I got   
this idea. I know I shouldn't start yet another fic while I'm   
working on two already, but the idea stuck in my head until I had   
to write it down. Writing something from the beginning of the   
series gives me a chance to alter Ranma's personality too. In   
Darkness Ahead, Ranma is born with special power, in Power   
and Responsibility, he is granted power, and now in   
Sorcerer's Solution, Ranma knows magic. I don't know wether I'm   
gonna continue this or not, but please send in any suggestions   
to dark_phoneix@hotmail.com Hotmail has been acting up lately so I   
may not see your messages for a few days, but I will eventually.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Sorceror's Solution 1

  
  
Nabiki just couldn't understand Ranma, and that left her off-balance   
in her dealings with him. Ranma's father was so frightened of him   
that he even seemed to avoid stepping in his son's shadow, and her   
own father practically ran away, screaming or gibbering in terror   
at the very sight of Ranma. The young man actaully had to eat   
his meals at a different time so he wouldn't distress the   
Tendo patriarch. But, even with that much control, or was it   
power, Ranma had allowed himself to be enrolled in Furinkan High,   
the same school she and Akane attended. Not that school was a   
bad thing, far from it, but Ranma didn't seem like the type that   
cared that much about, or even really needed, an education. So   
here they were, Nabiki and Akane, escorting him to his first day at   
the most f#&*ed up school in Japan.  
  
"Ranma, why did you let your dad make you come to school?"   
Nabiki voiced her thoughts to Ranma, who strangely enough, was   
walking on the chainlinked fence along the sidewalk.  
  
Ranma casually walked off the fence, never breaking stride,   
and continued walking next to Nabiki."Oyaji doesn't make me   
do anything, not anymore." He smiled boyishly, almost shyly,   
and said,"It's been a while since I was around people my own age, so   
I just gave him a small victory."  
  
Seeing the look on Ranma's face was strange. He usually wore such   
a confident expression, with a smirk that made him look like he   
always found his surroundings amusing, that Nabiki was thrown   
further off-balance. This was a strange boy indeed.  
  
Akane snorted derisively."Can't see why you want to associate with   
us 'normal' people. Afterall, we're just 'normal', not super-  
martial artist wizards. How can you even stand to be around   
us?"  
  
Now that Nabiki could understand. Akane had been angry enough   
after Ranma's treatment of their father, but when she had   
challenged Ranma... it hadn't been pretty. Worse, her defeat had   
made a complete mockery of her, up to the time, unsurpassed skills.   
Of course Nabiki had the little fight on tape, not that she would   
sell it, Ranma was too valuable and unpredictable to risk angering,   
but a periodic reminder to Akane would definately help control her   
ego.  
  
"Mage," Ranma replied absentmindedly."Sorceror is all right too,   
but wizard makes me sound old." He was looking intently ahead.  
"What 'are' they doing?" he asked, pointing up the road.  
  
Nabiki had been covertly examining Ranma, he was nice to look, so   
she didn't see what he was talking about at first. When she   
looked down the road she couldn't help but groan. They were   
back again. She couldn't understand how Nerima General got them   
back on their feet so fast."Ah, those are just Akane's   
admirers." Approaching the school, it was obvious that many of   
the gathered boys were walking wounded. Many stood on cructches,   
had bandages wrapped around their head, and a couple were   
in wheelchairs. She was about to elaborate further when   
Akane interrupted her.  
  
"I hate boys! I hate boys!" the now glowing girl repeated to   
herself slowly through clenched teeth. Then she charged at them   
like an angry bull.  
  
Ranma looked to Nabiki, confusion evident on his face."A classmate   
of mine made a proclamation at the beginning of the year that   
anyone who wanted to date my sister had to defeat her in combat.   
That was last semester. They just won't give up."  
  
Ranma's eyes bulged a bit, and for a moment Nabiki thought he was   
going to be sick, but then he broke out in a fit of laughter that l  
eft him leaning against someone's wall, clutching his ribs.  
  
When Ranma had gotten himself under control, Nabiki asked,"What's   
so funny?" Her voice held a note of irratation in it. Akane was   
her sister, afterall, and her plight wasn't that funny.  
  
Ranma must have heard the tone of her voice because he said,"Sorry,   
I'm not making fun of Akane, it's that the whole situation is   
so ridiculously similar to Amazon marriage laws that I couldn't   
help but laugh."  
  
"Amazon marriage laws?" Surely he didn't expect her to belive   
in Amazons. They were ancient mythology.  
  
"Me and Oyaji ran across them in China. The laws are pretty   
stupid, but they stick by them. If an outsider of the opposite   
sex defeats you, you have to marry them, but if they're of the   
same sex, you have to kill them."  
  
"You're joking, right? There are no such thing as Amazons." They   
were nearing the gates of Furinkan, and from the bodies littering   
the ground, it was obvious that Akane had already gone ahead to   
class. Hmm, Kuno would probably be getting out of the hospital   
soon.  
  
As they carefully maneuvered between the broken, groaning bodies,   
Ranma commented,"Tell the Amazons that. If you ever decide to,   
you better watch out though, they are all fighters." Ranma winced   
in sympathy when he stepped over a whimpering boy who had a   
baseball bat inserted into a rather sensitive area.  
  
"Okay, say these Amazons do exist, how do you know so much   
about them?" Nabiki asked as they entered the school. She decided   
to escort Ranma to the office and help him with the paper   
work.  
  
"After I got cursed I kept trying to kill the Oyaji, so he ran off   
to give me some time to cool down. A few days after he ran out of   
camp while I was sleeping, I found the Amazon village. I was   
pretty hungry, so I acted all girly and frightened and stuff.   
They took me to their village and fed me for a few days, but on the   
day I was planning to leave someone dropped a pot of hot water on   
me and I turned back into a guy. Things got pretty bad from   
there. They were real pissed for tricking them so a lot of them   
tried to kill me." Ranma walked past the office door.  
  
Nabiki grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back and led him   
into the office.  
  
"Ah, thanks. Anyway, after a few minutes I was engaged to about   
two dozen Amazon women. Eventually, they did over power me, but   
I'd taken out a least thirty of them by then. This big ugly one   
was about to chop my head off when a bolt of lightning struck her   
sword and knocked her out. A gaijin woman walked into view and   
burnt the ropes that were holding me to the stake. Turns out that   
she was a sorceress and had seen my potential. When the Amazons   
found 'that' out they made themsleves scarce. Later I found out   
that there's a really big rule they have about not hurting mages,   
good or bad."  
  
Chibi-Hinako was busily jumping up and down on the secretary's   
desk shouting,"I want bubble gum flavored chalk!" repeatedly.  
  
"So that's the woman who taught you magic?" Nabiki asked. If she   
could believe in magic, believing in Amazons wouldn't be too   
hard.  
  
"Yeah, she's from America, but she was visiting a friend for a   
while. Guess I got lucky."  
  
Lucky didn't even begin to describe it."Excuse me," Nabiki said to   
the secratary who was ignoring Chibi-Hinako's tantrum.  
  
"Yes, may I help you?" the gray-haired old woman asked.  
  
"My friend here needs to register for classes."  
****  
  
"Class, we have a new student. This is Ranma Saotome," the   
teacher introduced.  
  
Excited whispers broke out among the girls in the room causing Akane   
to scowl at Ranma. He probably couldn't wait to get his hands on   
all those defenseless girls. Well, she wasn't going to let   
that happen. She'd talk to Nabiki, maybe give her a little money,   
and there would be rumors of Ranma's perverthood going through   
the school by the end of the week.  
  
Ranma found an empty window seat near the back. Once the teacher   
had managed to quiet the class down, he began a long and boring   
lecture on some obscure point of Japanese history that Ranma   
missed completely becasue he fell asleep before the teacher   
actually mentioned what he was talking about.  
****  
  
Ranma didn't know anyone at Furinkan besides Nabiki and Akane, so   
at lunch he sought out the older of the girls. Akane definately   
wasn't an option. He was carrying his lunch tray over to the   
bench where Nabiki and another girl was sitting when a large group   
of boys surrounded him.  
  
"Hey Saotome," a tall, brauny guy sneered,"we hear that you're   
staying at Akane's place."  
  
Ranma couldn't believe these idiots were actually trying to bully   
him. When he didn't say anything, the same guy continued.  
  
"Well, we don't like it, Akane's our's, you hear," he laughed and   
the dozen or so other boys joined in.  
  
"You know I would never cheat on your mom, Son," Ranma finally   
said. Ranma had long ago decided that most people were   
complete idiots, and therefore undeserving of any respect. A   
person had to earn his respect and these people weren't doing a   
very good job.  
  
The leader of the little gang turned red with rage and   
began sputtering. The other boys closed in on Ranma, tightening   
the rough circle they had formed around him.  
  
Deciding to end the conflict so that he could at least have time   
to eat his lunch, Ranma sprang into action.  
****  
  
Nabiki had been watching the little encounter between Ranma and some   
of Akane's playmates with a little interest. Ranma could take care   
of himself, but when she heard his comment to the brute who had   
done the talking, the scene gained her immediate attention. That   
had been 'good'! It was when Ranma threw his tray straight into   
the air and became a barely visible blur that people starting   
gasping in suprise and shock. When Ranma again became visible,   
he caught his tray and proceeded on towards her position. Every   
last one of the boys who had intended to waylay Ranma was on   
the ground, clutching his throat and making sickly gurgling   
noises. Several nearby girls looked like they would be   
sick.  
  
"Do you think I overdid it?" he asked Nabiki.  
  
Even as she answered no to his question, Nabiki was thinking   
of possible uses for Ranma. Besides his possible future as   
her instructor in the arcane arts, Ranma represented a half   
dozen different financial ventures, but most of those wouldn't get   
his consent and as she had just seen, Ranma was not someone to   
be uspet, even if you disregarded all the interesting ways he had   
of blowing people up. But if she was seen to be his friend, and   
she was in a way becoming one, just the reputation he was sure to   
gain would be a very good deterent to debtors. Who would skip out on   
a payment when they were looking down the barrel of a fully   
loaded Ranma?"How was your first day?" she asked him. Had she   
blinked or did all the food just disappear off Ranma's tray?  
  
Ranma wiped his mouth with a napkin before answering,"Eh,   
pretty boring. The girls kept passing me notes and I got sent out   
of class a lot." He shrugged,"It's not like I really care or   
anything, but it really sucks to get blamed for stuff that isn't   
your fault."  
  
Nabiki nodded in agreement. It had been a long while since anyone   
had accused her of doing anything besides swindling them, but   
she remembered getting blamed for breaking Akane's toys when they   
were kids. Nabiki secretly suspected that it was Kasumi who   
kept twisting the heads off all of Akane's dolls, but no one had   
ever had the nerve to accuse Kasumi of anything.  
  
"Who's your friend, Nabiki?" Rei, one of Nabiki's business   
associates, asked.  
  
"Ranma Saotome, a friend on the family. Ranma, this is Rei   
Hino."  
  
They exchanged greeetings and Ranma looked over at his victims who   
were still on the ground choking.  
  
"You didn't do anything dangerous or permanent, did you?" Nabiki   
asked. There was only so much that she could cover up or gloss   
over, and Ranma may have pushed a little past her limits.  
  
"Nah, they just think they're choking, the effect will wear off in   
a few more minutes," he answered. Across the yard, Akane was   
sitting under a tree with two other girls, and all three were   
glaring at him. Ranma smiled and waved, hoping to further upset   
the tempermental Tendo.  
  
"What exactly did you do to them," Rei asked worriedly. Her   
younger brother was one of the idiots who had been harassing   
Ranma.  
  
"It's just a prssure point that makes a person think their throat   
is swollen shut."  
  
"So they're not in any danger?"  
  
"They may be a bunch of assholes, but I wouldn't kill them or   
anything like that over something so stupid." The bell rang,   
signalling a return to class. Ranma told the girls he would see   
them later and went to put his tray up.  
  
"He wouldn't really kill somebody, would he," Rei asked   
urgently.  
  
"No, he was just joking around." At least Nabiki hoped he was   
joking. Ranma didn't really seem like a killer, though.  
****  
  
"Just look at him over there hitting on my sister," Akane growled   
to Yuka and Sayori.  
  
"You should report him to the police. He did threaten your kill   
you dad," Yuka said between bites of a sandwhich.  
  
"And tell them that he did it with a ball of fire?" Akane   
pointed out."No, I'll just have to get rid of him myself."  
  
"How, you said that he beat you easily when you sparred with-"   
Sayori broke of the question when she heard Akane snarl.  
  
"Damned pervert, I'll get him, just watch." An uneasy silence   
grew between the three girls.  
  
Yuka and Sayori shared a concerned glance behind their friend's   
back. They knew that the new arrival, this Ranma Saotome, was   
only making Akane's rage hotter. For months the boys had attacked   
her relentlessly and for months she had fought them off, becoming   
more and more brutal with them as the weeks wore on. It   
wasn't uncommon for two or three of her attackers to spend weeks out   
of school with multiple broken bones, but that course of action,   
though useful with others, wouldn't work on Ranma, and Akane knew   
it. So how was she going to get Ranma out of her life?  
  
"Um...Akane, how do you plan to get him?" Yuka eventually asked.  
  
Akane grinned hatefully, and directed a glare at Ranma. Yuka   
and Sayori, both upset at Ranma for further angering their f  
riend, gifted him with glares of their own. Across the field   
Ranma waved to them.  
  
Akane growled again and little sparks of battle aura began to   
appear around her."Ranma doesn't know how Nabiki really is. All I   
have to do is pay her enough and she'll make Ranma run back to   
China crying like a little girl." Then she started chuckling.  
  
Yuka and Sayori slowly scooted away from Akane. Her battle aura   
was becoming a bit uncomfortable to be near. Thankfully, the   
bell rang.  
****  
  
"Nabiki, I need to talk to you in private," Akane whispered to   
her sister.  
  
To Ranma, who was walking along the fence, Nabiki said,"Go on   
ahead Ranma, me and Akane need to talk privately."  
  
Ranma shrugged and ran ahead. Akane didn't look happy and he   
wasn't about to get involved in a family dispute.  
  
"So what you need, Sis?" Nabiki asked once Ranma was out of   
sight.  
  
Getting to the point, Akane said,"I need you to make the whole   
school see how much of a pervert Ranma is. I've only got 6000 yen,   
but I'll take out a loan if you need me to."   
  
Alarm momentarily flashed in Nabiki's eyes. She bent close to   
Akane and fiercely whispered,"I don't want to hear anymore talk   
like that out of you, Akane! Just because Ranma's better than you   
are in the martial arts doesn't mean you have to hate him."   
Nabiki realized that she was defending Ranma for no reason. She   
hadn't even thought about the incentives of staying on his good   
side.  
  
Akane pushed right on ahead,"I hate him because he threatened   
Daddy, and he's a pervert! Can you imagine what he does to that   
poor girl body he's got?"  
  
"Akane, I'm not going to help you mess up Ranma's reputation. He's   
a friend, and I don't have too many of those. And besides, I   
have video evidence of the things you do to your poor body."   
There, that ought to shut her up.  
  
Akane was about to say something else when she caught the meaning   
of what her sister had said. In between heartbeats, her face went   
from slightly pink from the chilly air and anger, to purple, and   
her mouth started making funny little fish gulps.  
  
Ranma was her friend. Well, he might be someday, but it was a   
start. The thought almost made Nabiki stop laughing as her   
sister walked home woodenly, her face purple and her fists   
clenched tightly.  
  
She couldn't believe Nabiki, her own sister, would side with   
that... that pervert! And the nerve of the girl too spy on her   
doing 'that'! Ooooh, she didn't need Nabiki's help, she could do it   
on her own. Akane walked past the front gate of her home, she   
needed to pick up a few things from the store.  
****  
  
Nabiki found Ranma in the dojo. He was doing a very basic   
anything goes kata that she recognized from her childhood when she   
had still practiced the Art. She sat down to wait for him to   
finish. Only after observing him for a couple minutes did   
Nabiki notice how the air around Ranma seemed to shimmer as if it   
were very hot."Ranma, what's wrong with the air?"  
  
Ranma's response sounded strange and muffled."I'm making the   
air thicker so that its harder to move through."  
  
That explained it. Ranma was doing the equivalent to training   
with heavy weighted clothing. Curious, Nabiki walked to the edge   
of the distorted air and pushed her hand into it. It felt like   
trying to push her hand through wet cement! The force Ranma   
was exerting to move through that stuff had to be enormous.  
  
Finally, a few minutes later, Ranma stopped the kata, and the air   
in the dojo returned to normal. He was sweating profusely and   
panting, but his face held a delighted grin."Lasted twenty   
seconds longer this time," he told Nabiki.  
  
"That's nice. I just came to warn you that Akane may be planning   
to reveal your curse to the people at school tomorrow."  
  
Towelling himself off, Ranma said,"Thanks Nabiki. Are you sure   
that Akane isn't...you know..." he made the universal insane   
person gesture by swirling his finger around his ear.  
  
Nabiki found herself laughing at Ranma. He was almost like a   
walking contradiction, sometimes cold and collected, and every   
so often, bashful and awkward."I don't think she is, but we   
never really had her tested."  
****  
  
Akane dumped all the things she had bought onto her bed. There   
were water balloons, water guns, edible panties, a polaroid camera,   
a flesh colored dildo, and a very sleazy set of black silk   
lingerie. She would show everybody just how perverted Ranma was if   
it killed her.  
****  
  
Later that evening, the Tendos and Saotomes were watching the news   
on tv. They were featuring a new french restaurant on the   
cooking segment, but the camera operator momentarily stumbled and   
his camera swung to the side. To Akane's horror, it showed her   
coming out of the sex shop with a bag of stuff. All eyes turned to   
the belligered girl. Needless to say, she fainted.  
****  
  
Author's Notes: How does everyone like the story so far? If   
you noticed I used the name of Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon as one   
of Nabiki's business associates. If I get good responses, or   
just decide to, an alternate Sailor Moon universe may cross with my   
new Ranma one. All you Akane lovers out there, sorry, but Akane's   
life is gonna get worse before-wait, it won't get any better. Send   
all C&C to dark_phoneix@hotmail.com  
  
Need input!!!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Sorceror's Solution 2

  
Soun looked poleaxed as he stared at his youngest daughter. She   
had seemed like such a nice innocent girl, respectful to her   
elders, intelligent, and even the heir to the school of Tendo   
anything goes, but when had she become a pervert? He looked to   
his friend Genma for support, but the other man was busy looking at   
the tv as various dishes of French food were displayed. Kasumi   
wasn't doing much more than staring at her sister in shock. The   
sound of laughter filtered through into his troubled mind.   
Upon investigation, Soun found Nabiki and Ranma sitting side by side   
on cushions off to the side of the room. Both of them were laughing   
so hard that they looked to be having trouble sitting up."Wahhhhh!"   
he wailed after finally deciding that he would get no sympathy from   
his friend or family.  
  
"Hey Nabiki, how many people from school do you think saw that?"   
Ranma asked after he had recovered.  
  
Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes with the back of her   
hand, Nabiki answered,"I'm not sure, but you better believe that   
anyone who didn't see it will have heard about it by tomorrow.   
Akane's reputation is screwed."  
  
Horrified at her sister's prediction, Kasumi started to cry   
softly. Where had she gone wrong? She had raised her sisters   
and father as best as she could, but it looked like her efforts   
hadn't been sufficient.  
  
Akane chose this time to wake up. Her head jerked from side to   
side and she surveyed the room with wild eyes, seeing Kasumi and   
her father crying and Nabiki and Ranma laughing, the reality of   
her situation crashed down around her. They didn't understand!   
She wasn't a pervert! She had had to stop by that dirty place to   
get the stuff needed to setup Ranma. Oh no...what if someone   
from school saw?  
  
Soun saw that Akane was awake and practically flew across the room   
to her side. The hug he gave her was bonecrushing."Oh Akane, I'm   
not mad! We'll help you get through this tough time!" He once   
again collapsed into tears.  
  
"It's not what it looks like, Daddy!" insisted Akane.  
  
"Of course not dear," he sobbed.  
  
Akane just sighed hopelessly and looked around for some support,   
but knowing it wouldn't come. This was all Ranma's fault! He   
must have used magic to make that camera man stumble like that   
so everyone would see her! That bastard! Detaching herself from   
Soun took a few minutes, but eventually she managed it, then she   
ran upstairs. She would get back at him if it was the last thing   
she did!  
****  
  
The next morning Ranma finally got his answer to whether or not   
Nabiki could learn magic or not. He came downstairs early, so as   
not to disturb Tendo and hopefully to avoid Akane. To his   
suprise, Nabiki was already sitting at the table, reading the   
newspaper and nibbling on a piece of toast. And, low and behold,   
she was surrounded by the numerous dot of floating light that   
signalled an untrained magical talent. Ranma was so suprised that   
he missed the last step and fell flat on his face. He couldn't   
believe that she actually had the gift. The chances were just so   
slim that he had even made her think that there were all kinds of   
rules to follow so that she wouldn't feel as upset or jealous as   
she might have when he told her that she couldn't use magic. But   
now, well it looked like he was going to have his first   
student.  
  
"Ranma, are you all right?" Nabiki asked from his side. She   
sounded concerned.  
  
He heard Kasumi giggling softly to his left."Sure, just lost   
my balance," he answered as he climbed to his feet.  
  
Kasumi, a basket of wet clothes held before her, smiled and said,  
"You really must be more careful, Ranma." Then she was out the door   
and on her way to hang up some clothes.  
  
Ranma held out his hand to Nabiki and she looked at it quizzically   
for a few seconds before finally deciding to shake it. Her   
confusion was only increased when Ranma grinned and said,"Welcome   
to the club."  
  
"Huh?" she asked, but then before Ranma could answer, she   
caught Ranma's meaning and asked,"Magic?"  
  
Ranma nodded and said,"It looks like I've got my first student."  
  
In a completely uncharacteristic display of emotion, Nabiki threw   
her arms around Ranma and hugged him. When she drew back, she   
saw Ranma blushing slightly."Oops, sorry about that. I just   
got carried away."  
  
Ranma scratched the back of his head nervously."Heh, no problem."  
  
Nabiki's face took on a business-like expression and she took hold   
of Ranma's shoulder."Come on." Then she started pulling him back up   
the stairs, ignoring his protests that he hadn't eaten breakfast   
yet. They didn't stop until they were in Nabiki's room.  
  
"You're acting weird, Nabiki. Are you feeling okay?"   
  
"I feel fine. Now, have a seat and start teaching me magic."   
Nabiki sat on her bed and pointed to the other end of it.  
  
Ranma joined her and said,"This takes a while, you know?"  
  
Nabiki waved his objection off and said,"Well, since school   
is cancelled today, we can at least get a start."  
  
"School's cancelled? Why?"  
  
"The Principal's son is getting out of the hospital today so   
he declared today a holiday."  
  
"How'd you find out?" Ranma wasn't going to complain about a free   
day.  
  
"The secretaty called me. That's why i was up so early this   
morning."  
  
"Ahh, I bet that Akane will be glad to hear it." They shared a   
minute of laughter over her predicament.  
  
"Oh she was. Okay, back to magic."  
  
Ranma looked sheepish for a moment, but finally said."To begin with,   
I guess that I should tell you there aren't a lot of rules to it like   
I led you to believe. I didn't really believe that you would be   
able to learn, so I was just trying to make you not feel bad if   
you couldn't learn."  
  
Nabiki agreed with Ranma's reasoning, but couldn't help but think   
how funny it was that Ranma had actually believed that some rules   
would really make her feel better about not being able to do   
magic.   
  
"Magic is based on the four basic elements, fire, earth, air,   
and water. Each mage has a single element that they are most   
attuned to. Before we start anything, I've got to find out which   
you are most attuned to."  
  
"How do you do that?" Nabiki asked. Now they were getting   
somewhere. She hoped that fire was her element. It had   
always fascinated her as a child, but adherence to rules such as   
not burning stuff had dampened the fascination. The chance to   
really play with fire would be great.  
  
"I just did." Ranma grinned again.  
  
"What did you do?" Nabiki hadn't seen Ranma do anything she   
could associate with magic.  
  
"Nothing really. I just repeated the same thing that my sensei told   
me about the elements. It's some kind of catalyst she said. We   
always think about something related to our element and it shows in   
the sparks."  
  
"Sparks?"  
  
"When we aren't trained yet, we have a bunch of little floating   
lights around us that a Mage can see. Your's turned red, which   
means that you're element is fire."  
  
"But I've seen you do magic with fire and air. You said that we   
always had a single element."  
  
"There is always an element that we are 'most' attuned to. That's   
the one that we have the potential to use without speaking or   
making gestures. You can still use magic based on other elements   
but never as strongly as your prime element, and never without   
the incantations and finger wiggling." Nabiki had heard Ranma   
speak some kind of incantation when he had made the fireball   
that frightened her father into giving up on the engagements, so   
she knew that his must be another element."What's your   
element?"  
  
"Air."  
  
"Is it going to be harder to teach me because we don't have the   
same elements?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"No, my sensei was an Earth Mage and she didn't have any   
problems teaching me."  
  
Impatience began to gnaw at Nabiki, and she said,"Now that that's   
taken care of we can get down to the learning."  
  
Damn, Nabiki certainly was eager."Some of the flashier stuff is   
going to be a problem, but we'll deal with that when we get to   
it. Hold out your hand."  
  
Nabiki did so, a bit confused, but trusting in Ranma. Ranma turned   
her hand palm up and splayed her fingers, then laid his own larger   
hand over it. Ranma glowed a reddish orange for a second, then   
the light flowed across his body towards his hand. When it had   
all gathered, Ranma's hand was obscured within a solid blob of   
dark red-orange light.   
  
"This is going to feel weird, but I think you'll like it." Then, in   
a rush, the blob shot downward into Nabiki's hand.  
  
Instead of feeling the intense heat in her hand that Nabiki   
was expecting, her whole body grew warm and a general sense of   
euphoria spread with the warmth.  
****  
  
Nabiki awoke an indeterminate time later. After a couple   
seconds Ranma's head feeled her field of vision as he leaned down   
over her.  
  
"That didn't take long."  
  
"How long was I out?" Nabiki felt slightly embarassed. She had   
fainted before Ranma had even had a chance to teach her   
anything.  
  
"Just a few minutes." Ranma helped her sit up."That was really   
great. You must be very highly attuned to fire if you absorbed   
the energy that fast."  
  
"Huh?" Nabiki grunted in confusion.  
  
"I just crammed the most basic firespell into your head along   
with enough raw fire magic to allow you to cast it a few times.   
Hold out your hand and think about light, it's easy."  
  
"You mean that's all there is to it, learning magic I mean?"   
Learning to count had been more difficult than that.  
  
Ranma shook his head."No, getting the spell is the easy part. I   
can transfer them to you when I infuse you with magic energy.   
Teaching you to gather and store the energy is the hard part.   
Until you get that far into it, you'll only be able to cast spells   
with my energy."  
  
That wasn't a bad deal at all."Okay, so what can I do now?"  
  
"It's just a light spell. I duess you could use it as a projectile   
put it would only be about as strong as a snowball."  
  
Nabiki followed Ranma's earlier instructions. She held out her   
right hand and thought about light. At first nothing happened,   
but then, when she had begun to glare at ther hand, a small spark   
of light formed. It continued to grow until Nabiki held a semi-  
solid ball of light, about as strong as a 100 watt lightbulb.  
  
"See, easy wan't it?" Ranma grinned.  
  
Nabiki instinctively clenched her fist, causing the ball of light   
to disperse into hundreds of motes of light which all faded away   
slow as they float around the room."How many more times can I do   
that before I run out of energy?" It felt great to be defying so   
many laws of physics. Hell, it felt great just being able to   
do something that almost no one else could.  
  
"Depends on how strongly you are attuned to fire, but judging by   
how fast you recovered, I'd say five or six."  
  
"Okay, I'm ready for more." Nabiki held her hand out to Ranma so   
that he could give her another spell."  
  
"Nope, can't do it. You have to use all the energy that I gave so   
that the spell takes hold in your mind. Besides, it's really   
dangerous to try to teach you another on your first day. Tomorrow   
I can teach you two, and I'll begin teaching you the mental   
exercises that help you to absorb mana."  
  
Nabiki almost pouted, but Ranma said that trying to learn another   
could be dangerous, and he was the expert afterall, so she gave in   
and busied herself with making another magic lightbulb.  
****  
  
Akane didn't come out of her room the entire day, so Kasumi had   
to carry her meals up to her. Later in the evening, after   
dinner, Nabiki was once again commandeered Ranma, dragging him to   
her room  
  
"What now?" Ranma asked half-heartedly.  
  
"You said that you can't teach me any more magic today, but I'm   
sure there is all kinds of stuff you could still tell me, am I   
right?" Nabiki couldn't help herself, magic just made her feel   
more alive. It gave her another name too, at least in her mind it   
did. There was the Ice Queen, evil mercenary by day, and   
Fire Mistress, kick-ass sorcoress in training by night. She   
reminded herself to never mention that to anybody else. It   
just sounded to corny.  
  
Ranma sighed and grabbed a chair."Yeah, I guess."  
  
"OKay, how about starting at the beginning?"  
  
Sigh, again."Of what?"  
  
Did she have to spell it out for him?"What you know about magic,"   
she said with forced cheerfulness.  
  
Ranma abandoned his chair in favor of a more comfortable seat on   
the end of Nabiki's bed. This was going to be a long night."I guess   
I should tell you about elemental strength based on your   
affinity." Nabiki nodded."Okay, since your main element is fire,   
it's your strongest form of magic. Your next strongest element   
will only be 3/4 the strength of you fire magic. The next strongest   
is only 1/2, and the last is 1/4. My second element is fire, my   
third is earth, and my fourth is water. If my main element had   
been water and my second air, I would be able to break my curse."  
  
"How do I know what order the other elements come in relation to   
my own?"  
  
"We won't be able to find out until you know all the fire   
spells."  
  
"Well, go on."  
  
Jeeze, she certainly was eager."Depending on your first to   
elements, you can sometimes gain control of a sub-element with a   
whole other set of spells. My air and fire combine to give   
me lightning. If your second element is air you'll get that power   
as well. If it's water you'll get a kind of general control over   
the weather on a local scale. And earth will give you control   
of certain geothermal processes. That one only works in some   
places where the earth's crust is really thin."  
  
Ranma continued talking for almost two hours, informing Nabiki   
of various power combinations, the limitations of each element,   
and what telling her what she could expect in the comings days of   
her education.  
  
Finally,"After this we call it quits for the night?" Reluctantly   
Nabiki nodded. Ranma stood up and said,"Cover your eyes, this is   
going to be bright."  
  
Nabiki reached into the drawer of her bedside table and pulled a   
pair of sunglasses out,"I'm ready."  
  
Ranma gritted his teach and tenses all his muscles, then, with   
blinding speed, he punched his arm into the air. There was indeed   
a bright flash of light, though it was blue. Nabiki gasped as   
almost the whole arm disappeared. Ranma drew it back slowly.   
From somewhere, he had aquired a black gauntlet that reached to   
his elbow. It appeared to be made of pure blackness. There were   
no visible seems, and the short, forward facing spikes that lined   
its back blended in perfectly with the base of the unusual   
garment. With a slight gesture, Ranma had a four foot blade of   
the same blackness in his hand.  
  
"Cool, heh?" Ranma asked with a cocky little smirk.  
  
Nabiki pulled her shades off and said,"Yeah, but what 'is' it?"  
  
"When a mage has learned all the spells and has achieved there   
full power limitations, we make a kind of focus out of pure magic.   
It can be anything from a hairclip to a shoe, but once it's made   
it only works for its creator and is totally indestructible. They   
only help focus our power a little bit, but they can have other   
uses too. I don't like to fight with weapons because losing a   
weapon that you have become accustommed to can be a   
serious disadvantage, but my gauntlet can imitate any type of   
martial weapon and it can't be taken away from me without chopping   
my arm off and that's a little hard to do when someone's blasting   
you to hell and back."  
  
Nabiki reached out and touched Ranma's enshrouded arm. The   
black substance was incredibly smooth and flexed with Ranma's   
arm without trouble, but it also appeared to be as hard as   
steel.  
  
"I'm not a fighter, how would something like that help me?"  
  
Ranma shrugged and the gauntlet disappeared, taking the black   
sword with it."Like I said, it can be anything you want, but it's a   
one time deal, so it's best to make something that you'll always   
find useful."  
****  
  
The next morning, Ranma awoke to someone poking him in the side.   
At first he thought that his pop was trying to get himself a   
beating, but through blurred vision and a cloudy mind, Ranma picked   
out Nabiki's voice.  
  
"Wake up Ranma, hurry!" Nabiki whispered excitedly.  
  
"What do you want, Nabiki?" Ranma half groaned, half growled.  
  
"We've got to get ready and go to school early. Kuno is going to   
be back today and we can't miss the show. I'm sure someone has   
told him about Akane and the sex shop if he didn't see it himself."  
  
"So?" Ranma sounded a bit more coherent.  
  
"You don't know Kuno like I do. This could be the funniest thing   
we'll ever see!" She punctuated the exclamation by shaking Ranma.  
  
"All right, all right. I'm getting up." Ranma sat up, wiping the   
sleep from his eyes.  
  
"Kasumi is making us breakfast, so don't take long in the furo.   
We've got to get good seats and I need to set the camera equipment   
up."  
  
Muttering obscenities to himself, Ranma gathered up his bath things,   
a fresh change of clothes, and a towel from the linen closet in   
the hallway. After a short bath, he hurried to the kitchen in order   
to placate Nabiki's uncharacteristic excitement. She was   
already eating. Kasumi had gone western this morning, fixing   
sausage, eggs, and toast. Ranma ate much more slowly than he   
would have without his father around, cathing up with Nabiki just   
as she finished.  
  
"Come on Ranma, we have to hurry."  
  
Wordlessly Ranma followed Nabiki out the door. My God, the sun   
hadn't even risen yet! It was only a five minute walk to school,   
what could Nabiki possibly need to get to school two hours early   
for?  
****  
  
Author's Notes: I figured I would finish the next chapter one of   
my regular fics since I'd been dredging up so many old ones. I   
know this chapter probably seemes like a lecture on the new   
magic system that I'm creating from bits and pieces of all those   
from all the books I've read, but it allowed me to get a clear idea   
of how things should work magic wise from now on, so it helped.   
Next chapter is gonna be one of those funny ones that make you   
laugh till you cry. Hopefully it will be. Send me some C&C   
at dark_phoneix@hotmail.com  
  



End file.
